CHINA NEWS UPDATE September 1992.docx

CHINA NEWS UPDATE September 1992.docx

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CHINANEWSUPDATESeptember1992

CHINANEWSUPDATESeptember1992

AWorkerWithNoNeedToBeAshamed-FanYong

TakeRootDownward,BearFruitUpward-LiLancheng

REFLECTION-OnBeingATeacher-TingYen-ren

"OneWay"-DeniseDoster

NCCCUSA-relatedAmityteachersservinginChina:

NewsinBrief

StatisticsoftheCatholicChurchinChina

BookReview-FranklinJ.Woo

ChinaInOurTime:

TheEpicSagaofthePeople'sRepublicfromtheCommunistVictorytoTiananmenSquareandBeyond

HarryHardingAddresstotheClarenceT.C.ChingLectureSeries

InthelasttwoissuesofChinaNewsUpdatewereportedontheFifthNationalChristianConferenceheldinBeijingandtranslatedsermonspreachedattheordinationserviceofJanuary5,1992.InthisissueweincludeameditationgivenattheconferencebyFanYong,oneofthe45newordinands.Thehymn"LearningtobeaGoodShepherd"printedhereisafreetranslationfromPastorPeterTsai'sbeautifullyricssettothesimplebutmovingmelodycomposedbyMrs.EleanorTsai.PopularspeciallyamongruralChristians,thishymnbroughtmanytotearsduringtheJanuaryordinationserviceinBeijing'sChongwenmenChurch.

ThehymnalsobringstomindtheseoftenquotedwordsofPeterTsai:

"Before,wehadshepherdslookingforsheep.Nowsheeparelookingforshepherds."Thehistoricordinationof45,thoughprofoundlysignificantinitself,wasalsomeanttobea"promotion"andencouragementformorelocalchurchcouncilstoordainyoungandqualifiedpastors,accordingtoBishopShenYifanwhogavethechargetothenewordinands.Sincethenanumberofprovincesordainedmorepastorsinthespring.Theyincluded:

Hebei（ordaining6inJanuary）,Zhejiang（5inFebruary）,Sichuan（9inApril）,Jiangsu（9duringprovincialChristianconference）andShandong

（2）,whileHainan（thenewislandprovince）,GuizhouandSichuaneachhadtwonewpastorsordainedattheendoflastyear.WhentheFujianChristianConferencemetinMarchthisyear,theyreceived60applicantsforordination.Ofthese,90percentwereyoungpeople.

InChina,theeffortofproviding"shepherdsforthesheep"dependsnotonlyonthe4-year,2-yearorevenone-yeartheologicaleducationinseminaries,importantthoughthatmaybe.Manylaytrainingprogramsarebeingsponsoredbylocalchurchesandcouncils.LiLancheng'sdescriptiveaccountontheLiuheChurchtrainingprogramisafineexample,andgivesusawindowintohundredsofothersimilartrainingprogramsalloverChina.

BishopK.H.TingtoldtheNCCChinaProgramCommitteeonMay18ththisyear:

"EvangelismismuchbroaderandgreaterthanjusttellingpeopleaboutJesusChrist.InthelastfewyearswehavefoundthepresenceofChristianteachersfromabroadaneffectiveformofChristianwitness.Atfirstsomepeoplewereworried:

HowcanweinviteforeignChristianstocomeandaskthemnottopreach?

Butsuchworrieswerenotnecessary.BytheirservingasgoodteacherstheseforeignChristianshavesetanexampleforChineseChristians,thattheycanwitnessinwhateverjobtheytake-teaching,workinginthefactory,orbeingasalesperson.Amityteachersarebridge-builders.TheyhavebeengreathelpinChina."

OnJuly21st,18newAmityteacherssponsoredbydenominationsrelatedtotheNCCCUSAleftforlanguageschoolinDalian,LiaoningProvince（formerlyknownasManchuria）.Since1985,thisistheeighthgroupofAmityteachers,andthefirsttobegintheirtwo-yearassignmentswithanintensivecourseofChineselanguagetogether.Thedecisionforthis"required"enrichingexperiencecameastheresultofrecommendationsfromformerAmityteachers.Ourprayersarewiththem,andwiththepeopleandchurchinChina.-J.Woo

AWorkerWithNoNeedToBeAshamed-FanYong

TianFengMarch1992

EveryoneofusdedicatingourselvestotallytobeservantsofJesusChristshouldstrivetobepleasinginGod'ssight,tobe"aworkerwhohasnoneedtobeashamed."TheLordhassetusagoodexample.Hesaid,"Iamthegoodshepherd.Iknowmysheepandmysheepknowme....Ilaydownmylifeformysheep."

TheLordJesushastoldusthattobeworkerswhoneednotbeashamed,wearefirstrequiredtoknowourflock:

tounderstandtheircharacteristic,theirparticularneeds,difficultiestheyface,andproblemsthatexistintheirmidst.Onlybysodoingcanwebegintoministertothem.

FouryearsagotheGuangxiRegionalCouncilandThree-Selfrecommendedmeforordination.AtthattimeIdidnotfeelsuchacalling.Eversincegraduatingfromtheseminary,Ihadbeenonthestaffofthecouncil.Ithoughtthattobeapastorwithresponsibilitiesofnurturing,oneneededtobeworkinginalocalchurch.Asmyworkwasinthecounciloffice,Ididnotknowwhomysheepwere.Atatimewhentheharvestwasfullandlaborerswerefew,atimewhenflockseverywherewerecryingoutforshepherds,IdidnotknowwhetherIcouldbeconsideredashepherdwhenIhadnosheep.

ThenthescriptureinthetenthchapterofJohnpointedoutthedirectionforme.TheLordJesussaidthathehadcomesothatthesheepcouldhavelife,andtohaveitabundantly.Hehadsetanexampleforusbycomingtoourmidst,tobeclosetous,sothatwecanhaveabundantlife.Wewhoworkinthecouncilofficesshouldnotlosetouchwithourpeople.IfwearecommittedtolearnfromJesus,weshouldfollowhisfootstepstogowheretheflockis.TheLorddidnotcallmetositinanisolatedofficealldaytobean"organizationcadre."Hehascalledmetowalkinthewide-openfield,joiningallthosewhohavebeensentbytheLordoftheHarvest,tolaborshouldertoshoulderwithcolleaguesonthegrassrootslevelandbringinthesheaves.ThanksbetoGodthatthroughmyseniorcolleaguesIwasgivenopportunitiestocometoknowChristiansinmanylocalchurches.Thebeautifultestimoniesourmulti-ethnicbrothersandsistersreaffirmedmyfaith.TheirferventloveforGodinspiredmeandurgedmenottotakeforgrantedanyopportunitytobeinGod'sministry.

Experiencesofthelastfewyearshavetaughtmethatittakeshardworktoknowmysheep.Itrequiresevenmoreefforttobeknownbytheflock.WhenIfirstcametoGuangxiIwaspainedtoseethesituationhere.Thereweresome"self-styledevangelists"whoclaimedtobeshepherdsbuttheywereactuallythieves,drivingthesheepastray.Thosewhotrustedthemhadregardedmeasstrangerandwerereluctanttobeassociatedwithme.Theywereprejudiced,saying:

WhatgoodcancomeoutofanyonerelatedtotheThree-Selforganization?

Theyclaimedthatpeoplewhograduatedfromseminarieshadbecome"non-believers"fromwhomnolivingwatercouldflow.EvensomewhoweresupportiveofThree-Selflookeddownonmebecauseofmyblackhair.Theywereonlyaccustomedtotakingspiritualnurturefromolderpeoplewithgrayhair.

TheLordJesustellsusthattheshepherdcallsouttohissheepwhowouldrecognizehimbyhisvoicebutwouldavoidstrangers.Therewasnowayformetoberecognizedandaccepted.AllIcoulddowastoplacemyselfinthehandsoftheLord,askinghimtousemeandtoletmywordsbethoseofashepherd.

MyworkincludesoccasionswhereIhadtheopportunitiestoexplaintolocalChristiansaboutnationalpoliciesandregulations.IoftenencourageChristianstobelaw-abiding,faithfultothechurchandloyaltoourcountry.IalsohelpChristianstotakeadvantageofgovernmentpoliciestoprotectourlegalrights.BydoingsoIamonlydoingmyduty.YetIconstantlyremindmyselfnottoletmyvoiceleadChristianstothinkthatIamacadreofgovernmentbureauofreligiousaffairs.MyflockhastherighttohearGod'swordsthroughmebecauseIamGod'sservant.IprayallthetimethatGodwouldkeepmeandmakemeanambassadoroftheGospel,throughwhomthemessageofGodcanbechanneledatalltimesandinallplaces.

Itisdifficulttoknowthesheepandtobeknownbythem,unlesstheshepherdiscommittedtolaydownhis/herlifeforthesheep.Ifweallowthelife-givingloveoftheshepherdtoburninus,andifwearereallywillingtodieforoursheep,thereisnothinginthisworldthatwecannotgiveuptofollowChrist.InthepastfewyearsIhavemademistakesinmywork.WithmyfailuresandinmymomentofweaknessIhadthoughtthatperhapsIshouldreducemyworkinordertoavoidmoremistakes.ButwhentheloveofGodinspiredmeandrestoredmystrengthIwouldtellmyselftotakenoteofallthelessonsfromfailurethatGodhadtaughtme,andforgetaboutmyownpersonalsorrowandremorse.OtherwiseIwouldnotdeservetotakeupthecrosstofollowChrist.

ThisafternoonIwillbeordainedasapastor.IwanttoconcentrateonceagainontheexamplethatJesushassetforme,and,"forgettingwhatliesbehindandstrainingforwardtowhatliesahead."

Rev.FanYonggraduatedfromNanjingTheologicalSeminaryandisnowservingasGeneralSecretaryoftheChristianCouncilofGuangxiZhuangAutonomousRegion,amulti-ethnicterritorynearChina'sbordertoVietnam.

LeaningtobeaGoodShepherd

PeterTsai1982EleanorTsai1982

TakeRootDownward,BearFruitUpward-LiLancheng

ExcerptedfromTianFeng,June1992

LiuheCountyofJiangsuProvinceislocatednorthoftheYangtzeRiver,withNanjingtoitssouthandtheborderofAnhuiProvincetoitsnorth.Onquiet,ancientFrontStreetstandsthespaciousandtoweringLiuheCountyChurch.ItwasherethattheThirdLayTrainingClassforchurchleaderstookplacefromFebruary17toMarch7ththisyear.

ThedecisiontohavesuchatrainingclassisinevitableduetotheurgentneedsofthechurchinLiuheCounty.Withgreatrejoicingandthanksgiving,LiuheChurchwasreopenedonNewYearsDayof1984u